Dremel DigiLab 3D20 3D Printer Review

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Dremel Digilab 3D Printer Rated

Print Quality

User Experience

Ease of Use

Durability

Value for Money

4.6

Craft Schmaft Verdict

The Dremel DigiLab 3D20 3D Printer shines in performance, ease of use, and reliability making it a solid choice for both beginner and advanced hobbyists.

While it lacks the freedom to truly customize your experience, this is a safer and easier alternative that aims to last a while.

3D printers are becoming cheaper and more available for the general audience every day. Once fabled for their uses in large factories or hospitals, now it’s possible to have your very own 3D printer, so you can bring your pet projects to life right in your home.

Unsurprisingly, several manufacturers are trying to cater to various types of customers, and Dremel is one of them. The Dremel DigiLab 3D20 3D Printer is made with beginners, casual users, and even schools in mind.

Dremel stands by their original intention: providing learning opportunities by making various designs available through their website. While many are handy items that make everyday life a bit easier, some of these are introduced as educational tools.

Building your own small catapult or an ‘archeological’ bone collection is fun and easy to do.

With its small stature and excellent online support, it’s a tempting model for those looking to get their first printers.

But does Dremel have secret pitfalls you should know about? We know, and have gathered all the necessary data for you.

Dremel DigiLab 3D20 3D Printer: The Details

Specs

Filament Types: PLA filament, of the Dremel brand. Other PLA brands are possible, but might not fit as easily.

Ready to Print?: Comes ready to print

Compatibility: Compatible with both PC and Mac, since operating it requires making an account on the Dremel website and a decent Wi-Fi connection. For the tech lovers there are also Android and IOS apps available.

Warranty: One-year warranty

How Does it Work

While most commercial 3D printers started out offering FDM filaments, this 3D printer instead prefers to use PLA filament.

PLA is short for ‘polyactid acid,’ although the name should cause you no alarm. Classified as a polyester, this material is also biodegradable and derived from renewable sources.

While this type of polyester has found a use even in the medical world as an aid to setting broken bones, for use in 3D printers, things are a bit less complicated. The machine heats up the PLA, and then deposits and molds it according to the model you have selected.

Since the Dremel 3D20 is a desktop printer, printing large designs will feel clunky and require a lot of planning. Because this printer is aimed to beginners and schools, the general expectation is that your projects will be smaller and simpler to make.

Little vases, soap rests, and various handy gadgets are the name of this game – so long as they can be made in one piece or multiple tiny pieces. This printer also shows a great affinity for projects that require supports.

Accessories

The target audience of the Dremel DigiLab printer is apparent from the added accessories you’ll find in the box and the additional online tools.

There isn’t much in the way of added goodies, but they’ll get you on the fast track of printing without much distraction.

In the box you’ll find:

Power cable

USB cable

Instruction manual

Quick start guide

One (1) Dremel filament spool

Spool lock

SD card

Build tape

Object removal tool

Unclog tool

Leveling sheet

With this model closely resembling their 3D40 model, geared solely towards schools and other institutions, you also have access to the pre-designed models on the Dremel website.

While advanced printers won’t be very impressed by these designs, they are excellent testing models for newbies. There are new designs added regularly, some of which are surprisingly useful.

Soap dishes and spoon rests are only two of the many designs offered by Dremel itself, and that’s not even talking about all the other sites offering fun and convenient models.

Features

Fully Enclosed Desktop Printer

Purchasing your first 3D printer can be a daunting experience; you may fear the tech isn’t right yet, you might fear you’ll dislike this new hobby, and some of these machines take up a lot of space which you might not be willing to sacrifice.

With the Dremel DigiLab, you can put these worries to rest. With its small size, there’s little chance you’ll feel crowded, and the intuitive system is all you need to get the hang of printing.

This is great for those who are tight on space, or smaller sized classrooms.

Dremel has designed the DigiLab 3D20 3D Printer to be fully enclosed so it retains an even temperature and adds an extra safety precaution for nosy kids and pets. This is especially important in a school environment.

Quick and Reliable Print Results

Part of the fun of having a smaller printer is your projects will be finished quicker too. You won’t have to wait in agony as your printer takes its time to tackle a project.

The DigiLab Printer has also gone through rigorous testing for reliability. Dremel wants to make sure this printer performs from its first print to its hundredth.

Dremel has also made sure to have this printer UL safety certified, so you can set your prints to work overnight.

Choosing a higher quality finish will, of course, slow down things a tad, but overall, you can be certain your projects will be finished quickly.

Good Quality Finish

Though the Dremel DigiLab isn’t priced as a state of the art printer, it delivers good results and a great finish.

As the best 3D printer for beginners, this is an incredibly nice feature which is sure to kindle the passion for this hobby.

Closed System

While the closed system might be bad news for the fans of printer improvement, it does make it extremely unlikely something will go wrong.

Enjoy the security that your printer will keep functioning the way it’s supposed to, and rest easy in knowing you’ve gotten a machine that doesn’t need enhancing to perform splendidly.

Color LCD Touchscreen

To make take things to that extra level of convenience, the Dremel DigiLab Printer includes a full-color LCD touchscreen to help guide you along your printing adventures.

From this screen, users can fine-tune settings and find memory files from an SD card to help you print easily.

Instead of connecting the printer via cable, you can use this SD card and the screen to find the designs you want wirelessly.

Dremel DigiLab 3D20 3D Printer Review

The Positives

With a durable build and an ensured quality finish, you won’t regret choosing this printer to kick-start your new hobby.

The price makes it a little easier for new crafters to break into the world of 3D printing – especially knowing that the price reflects the quality.

Continuing Support

The Dremel website gets a few new designs once in a while, perfect for testing out the current limits of your abilities with a 3D printer.

Since 3D printing, in general, is a learning curve for every printer, it’s good to know that you have compatible designs to fall back on.

The tech support and customer service departments have received some raving reviews as well, so if you’re really stuck, know there’s always help available.

Detailed and Quick Start Guide

You want to get started quickly, rather than wasting time learning every in and out? The quick start guide has got you covered.

Have you already tried out a few designs and want to know the nitty-gritty? The added detailed manual can teach you everything there is to know from A to Z – and then some.

Having a quick-start guide makes it easy for beginners to jump right in, and settles the impatience of ready-to-go crafters. And once you’ve knocked out a couple of designs, you can look to the details to find out how to tackle more.

Warranty

Dremel has you covered with a 1-year limited warranty which is a relief, especially for beginners.

Warranties show that the company backs their product, and reassures that you won’t be left stranded should a problem arise.

This limited warranty covers any damages or errors from manufacturing or craftsmanship. Just hang on to your receipt providing your date of purchase and they should be able to handle the rest.

Also, make sure you handle your printer with care as the warranty doesn’t cover any damages caused by the owner.

Here’s what the Dremel DigiLab 3D20 looks like out of the box.

The Negatives

No Upgrades

Advanced users love getting a printer that can be upgraded in the future. With its closed system, the Dremel 3D20 can’t be tampered with, but it also can’t be upgraded apart from any software updates.

While this isn’t a big issue for printers in schools or for the casual hobbyist, hardcore print fans won’t be that impressed.

Dremel Brand PLA Exclusive

While you can hook up different brands of PLA – with some careful research beforehand – this printer has been designed for spools that are only a quarter the size of a regular spool.

Taking advantage of bigger and cheaper spools will ask a bit of handiness from you.